Legend of Zelda fans celebrate its 40th anniversary after being neglected by Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda turns 40 over the weekend as February 21st marks four decades since it was first released on the NES. As you may have noticed, even though this is its biggest asset since Mario, Nintendo neglected to mention it. Not even a happy birthday tweet. Which is why Zelda fans are taking it upon themselves to mark the occasion properly.

February 21st came and went without a mention of Zelda from any of Nintendo's official accounts (none on Nintendo Today, isn't the whole reason the app exists for stuff like this?), and apparently some fans were ready for that. So the sharing of favorite moments, old photos, and fan art dedicated to the iconic series began long before the anniversary itself was over.

Fans wish The Legend of Zelda a happy birthday on its 40th anniversary

Link safely stands before Zelda in Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild.

Developer Maddy Kenyon shared a childhood photo of herself alongside Zelda games, merchandise and drawings from 26 years ago, revealing that it was The Legend of Zelda that inspired her to pursue a career in video game development. Zelda fan Christina Rose shares the details of what inspired Shigeru Miyamoto to dream up the original Zelda game and celebrate its anniversary by streaming the original.

Some of the Zelda fan art shared over the weekend included a charming image of Link drawn over objects seen in every game in the series, a stunning sketch of the Master Sword, an anniversary picture bringing together the many versions of Link that Nintendo has dreamed up over the years, and my favorite piece of art, the Breathstone tech shown on the Breathstone. Standing in front of the Great Deku Tree.

Meanwhile, on the Nintendo of America Twitter account, the focus of the weekend was primarily on Pokemon for a few reasons. Nintendo revealed that Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen will be coming to the Switch later this week. There is also the release of Pokemon Pokopia around the corner. Mario Tennis Fever also got some attention, but nothing for poor old Link.

Unless you're Mario or Pokemon, you don't get a Nintendo birthday

While some Nintendo fans were anticipating the 40th anniversary when we heard something about Twilight Princess and Wind Waker remasters — or maybe an Ocarina of Time remake — many kept their expectations in check. It's just an acknowledgment that one of the greatest series in sports is approaching 40 years, but nothing happened.

On the one hand, that seems wild, but on the other, it's not out of character for Nintendo. It did the same to Donkey Kong when the original DK game turned 40 years old. Former Nintendo devs Kit and Krista noted that, unless it has something to announce, Nintendo doesn't particularly care about anniversaries. The big exceptions to this are Mario and Pokemon, and when it comes to the latter, it's more about what the Pokemon company wants to do than Nintendo's decision.